Smolder and Smoke
It was like waking from the grave, my body determined not to be disturbed. Auguste's kisses were insistent and soft, dropping over every inch of me until, finally, I was aware enough to open one eye.
"Mm."
He chuckled and kissed my shoulder. "I am going back to Rooksgrave for my dayrest. I will see you tonight, mon coeur."
"Why not stay?" I mumbled, reaching for him and not finding him near. "Auguste?"
But there was no answer, and I had no will to fight the sleep calling me back.
Hours moved drowsily into morning, and eventually—with a little jostling from either side of me—I woke between Amon and Booker. I had a foggy memory of being washed off and carried to bed the night before, but the details of the room were lost until now.
The pillows were airy, the sheet over me silky, and the contrast between Amon and Booker's temperatures kept me wonderfully comfy. The ceilings above us were bright and high, and the men around me hummed as I stretched on the enormous mattress before sitting up. Sunlight was streaming in through tall windows lining one wall, shrouded with gauzy curtains that did nothing to shade the room.
Jonathon's face was buried in pillows on the other side of Amon, and there was an Ezra dent in the bed near Booker.
"Good morning, little star," Amon said, and I shivered at the sleepy growl in his tone. "Cold?"
His hand pressed sunny heat into my skin as he stroked it up my back, and I shook my head in answer, eyes searching the room.
"She's just not quite awake yet, are you, puisín?" Ezra mumbled, flickering into view on the bed.
"Auguste left," I mumbled, squinting out the window, remembering the barely conscious goodbye kisses from my vampire.
"His spot at Rooksgrave is more secure. We discussed it last night," Amon said. "How are you feeling?"
I stretched again, grinning in satisfaction as my back cracked wonderfully. I vividly recalled all we'd done the night before, had the phantom mouths and hands and cocks still echoing on my skin, and yet my body was…
"Shouldn't I be sorer than this?" I asked, blinking.
"The oil we used in your massage would've prevented it," Amon answered, his arms moving back to prop his head up, sleepy grin victorious.
I answered his grin with my own. "Mmm, that is very good news."
I'd expected to suffer a little after all of last night's 'celebrating,’ but the most I felt was a pleasant awareness. The only really sore spot was the bite mark on my inner thigh from Auguste. I reached down to press the mark, my eyes drifting back out the window.
"You miss him," Booker said.
I blinked, returning to the room, finding Jonathon rolling onto his back with bleary eyes and a lazy smile on his lips.
"Already?" Amon asked, brow furrowing.
"It's just knowing that he can't be with us, I think," I said softly, trying to pinpoint that sense of missing something, having a puzzle piece out of place.
Amon hummed, frowning up at me, and his focus seemed as distant as my own. Thoughtful rather than disappointed in me. "I can prepare a better resting place for him here," Amon said.
I nodded and placed a smile on my lips. It was a kind offer, even if it didn't solve the fact that Auguste had to spend all of daylight locked away from me. Maybe I was being unreasonable. I had the others. He was there at night.
Jonathon chuckled and sat up as well, finally reminding me that I had four very handsome and undressed men in bed with me.
"I don't know if you had grand plans for our day, Amon, but our lady might be cheered if she were back at Rooksgrave near our missing member," Jonathon said.
I bit my lip, fisting my hands in the sheets and not wanting to offend Amon by agreeing, but he only combed his fingers through his hair with one hand and reached for one of mine with his other, drawing my knuckles to his lips for a kiss.
"Easily managed. We return to the manor."
I sighed and beamed at him, twisting to hover above him, pressing kisses over his brow and then scrambling away before he could draw me into his arms.
"Who's dressing me this morning, then?" I asked.
The bed was empty with a few grunts and many flailing limbs. Booker caught me first, although I suspected he cheated based on Ezra's grunt and Amon's suddenly stubbed toe.
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